We have this little plastic toy camera that we love to use for some nostalgic-feeling videos, like this one of our family in Paris when Ben was just learning to walk.
I (Erica) have never used it for anyone but our own family, so the Hisers agreed to let me try it out during a family portrait session in their home. I love the results. It's low-fi, simple, grainy, and shaky. But it has a certain feeling and sweetness and rawness that I just love. And this song is one of my favorites as the year ends and a new one begins.
I hope you enjoy this little video of a sweet family.
I (Erica) am sitting here in our quiet house. Our boys are asleep, their toys are still scattered across the living room. My couch is half put back together, but the rest of the pillows are still stacked in the remnants of a fort wall. The dishes are clean, but it's a minor miracle. The dog is curled up on my brand-new wool blanket that I should probably make him move from but he's so cozy that I can't make him move. The Christmas lights are on, and the house smells like frasier fir (and dinner and Vicks Vapor Rub and I'm-not-sure-what-else).
These kinds of days, these are it. These are the days that stories are made of. Not big stories, like my grandpa(s) used to tell. Not stories that make a whole room laugh at a punchline. Just life. The little things -- the anecdotes, if you'll humor me -- that make up the bigger story of WHO we are.
We launched Anecdotally Yours back in 2012 after several years of running separate photo and video businesses. When we did, we named ourselves this silly name because we wanted people to resonate with the idea that we are capturing anecdotes (short, biographical stories) of their life when they invite us to photograph or film them. Often, it's on a really important day or for a really important milestone. But sometimes, it's just normal, just everyday. And I'm realizing those are some of my favorite things to preserve.
"Story" has become quite a buzzword. It's in so. many. advertising messages. You can't escape it. And you know why? Because we, as humans, CARE ABOUT STORIES. Our own story and other people's stories. I promise we're not about buzzwords or targeting our marketing at you. We really care about your story, and need to get better about capturing our own.
So, in honor of stories, and you, and us caring about stories and you, let's do something fun. We're going to give away a family documentary photography session. All you have to do is comment on this blog post with a short version of your favorite personal story from 2016. Tell us something you don't want to forget about this year. Could be something big, but it could be something pretty mundane. Comment below, and we'll randomly pick someone to win a family documentary photography session!
THE DETAILS:
- For people/couples/families in the Kansas City metro area only
- Must leave a comment below with a piece of your story from 2016. Make sure you write your name in the comment if you're not logged in to a Google or Facebook account, since your post will appear as Anonymous.
- The winner will get a one-hour family documentary photo session (typically in your home. This isn't a "traditional" family, baby, or engagement session, and can't be used on a wedding day. It's more real-life documentary and less posed images!)
- Digital files included
- Photo session must be redeemed before April 1, 2017
- Entries accepted until midnight on Friday, December 9th
- Winner will be announced after the 9th here on our blog and on our new Instagram account, @anecdotallyyours
- Want an extra entry? Follow our brand new Instagram account (we're really trendsetters, just now getting a separate account for AY...) @anecdotallyyours and post a photo on your own IG of one of your favorite moments of this year and tag @anecdotallyyours in the caption (that's the only way we'll be able to count your entry!).
Also, we've just launched this new website to freshen up our look and it's exciting for us! The last 5 years of our blog posts from our old site are still missing...we're working on it. And we still have some more content to add to the photo galleries (this many years of stories is kind of lot to work through!). For now, have a look around. Let us know if anything isn't working right or if you want to see more of something.
We're thankful for you all. Thank you for sharing with us, and for trusting us to tell your stories.
I can't explain how wonderful it is to see people go from engaged, to married, to parents. It's even better when I get to capture life stages with my camera for the same family, like these cuties and Sam, who has perfected facial expressions. All of them. They're all that good. :)
Okay, guys, it wasn't really an enchanted forest. That's just what I was calling it in my head as we planned and scouted locations for Rachel's maternity photos. And it worked! Love these images of Rachel right before they got to meet their second son.
Such a doll baby. I am obsessed with her sweet little face!
What's the secret to photographing a two year old? Just. Keep. Moving. :) Love what we captured during this session -- lots to explore, see, and do with a little guy!
I've been photographing this family for years now -- and their kids keep getting taller and cuter. We have to keep thinking of new locations to mix it up each year, and this was a fun off-the-beaten-path spot that I hadn't been to before. Loved it and I always love my time with this cute family.
Gosh, this boy is TOO CUTE. And this park? It's where his dad grew up playing and riding bikes. Love it. I hope when our boys are big, they live close enough to us to take my grandkids to the park they grew up playing in. Is it too soon to wish that, when they aren't even school aged yet? :)
It never gets old, documenting the arrival of a new little life and the moments where important people meet that little person for the very first time. I was honored to get to photograph big brother Abe and big sister Madeline when they meet their baby SISTER (a surprise until they entered the room!) for the first time.
Is there anything better than a 2-year-old who makes silly faces?
I had the best time document Brooke and Brit's life on their Kansas farm. They are the sweetest couple who wanted to preserve what their life is like in images, in part so they could use the photos in their adoption portfolio. They are going to make amazing parents, and a child is going to LOVE growing up in this gorgeous place with these two as their guides.
(Clicking on an image will let you view their slideshow larger on screen).
Hey, friends!
We've just launched this new site design and we're in the process of importing all of our previous blog posts from the last 5 years or so to the new design. Hang tight, we'll be back to blogging before you know it!